Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: DLB) today announced at CinemaExpo 2008 a licensing program for digital cinema server manufacturers to allow their digital cinema servers to support Dolby® 3D Digital Cinema playback. XDC became the first manufacturer to receive approval to license Dolby 3D Digital Cinema technology for its CineStore Solo G3 server line.
As part of its deep commitment to digital cinema interoperability, the Dolby 3D licensing program will enable exhibitors who have servers manufactured by licensees of this program to integrate Dolby 3D into their existing server platforms.
“As excitement grows for digital 3D, we wanted to make it easy for exhibitors around the world to adopt Dolby 3D and offer their patrons an enhanced cinema going experience,” said John Carey, Vice President Marketing, Cinema, Dolby Laboratories. “We are committed to providing interoperability in our digital cinema products to give exhibitors a choice in suppliers.”
The Dolby 3D playback compatibility licensing program delivers solutions designed to ease interoperability among digital cinema manufacturers. Since Dolby 3D uses dual-channel, real-time color correction technology within the playback server, studios are not required to perform any 3D vendor-specific preprocessing. To ensure optimal Dolby 3D quality, Dolby strictly defines the technical requirements and evaluates the playback systems.
“This licensing deal for Dolby 3D is a major step for the digital cinema industry. Indeed, our current exhibitor clients already equipped with the XDC CineStore® Solo G3, and all the other exhibitors deploying digital screens and selecting our server because of its assets, will now be able to install Dolby 3D Digital Cinema technology,” said Thierry Van der Kaa, General Product Manager at XDC. “Exhibitors will then have the opportunity to project 2D and 3D shows using their regular white screen and without any ‘ghost-busting’ effect.”
The Dolby 3D Digital Cinema playback compatibility licensing program is open to digital cinema server manufacturers capable of meeting Dolby’s performance requirements and approval processes. Approvals are granted upon rigorous testing of the integration and accuracy of Dolby 3D color correction algorithms. Exhibitors looking to implement 3D with a Dolby 3D licensed playback server will also need a Dolby 3D compatible projector or a retrofit kit for existing projectors that includes an easily installed full-spectrum color filter wheel.
About Dolby 3D Digital Cinema
Dolby 3D Digital Cinema technology, in conjunction with digital cinema projectors featuring Texas Instruments Digital Light ProcessingTM (DLP) technology, provides exhibitors with an efficient and flexible solution designed to deliver a superior 3D experience. Dolby 3D utilizes standard white screens, so exhibitors don’t have the added cost or the quality compromise associated with the use of silver screens, delivering a great 3D experience from every seat in the house. Additionally, Dolby Laboratories provides cost-effective and environmentally friendly passive reusable 3D glasses. Dolby’s 3D solution uses a unique full-spectrum color-filter technology licensed from Infitec that provides realistic color reproduction and extremely sharp images.
